The Recruiting Guy

Cook and parents high on Hogs

Power forward Tyler Cook.

Highly recruited junior power forward Tyler Cook named Arkansas one of his six finalists because he believes his talents matchup well with the Hogs’ style of play.

“They want to use my versatility and my athleticism,” Cook said. “They play very fast. They like to press defensively and get out and run offensively and because of my build and my running and jumping ability and my versatility and being able to dribble and shoot the ball and also finish inside, they feel like I would be a good fit for their system.”

Cook, 6-9, 235 pounds, of St. Louis Chaminade College Prep also lists Florida, Missouri, Iowa State, Iowa and Virginia as finalists out of more than 25 scholarship offers. ESPN rates him the No. 15 power forward in the nation.

He trusts his gut feeling when making decisions.

“That’s the reason I was able to cut some of the schools off and keep the ones that I have on is because of the feeling I get from the coaches,” Cook said. “I’m a guy that goes with my gut feeling.”

His parents Trent and Stephanie want their son to put a major emphasis on academics.

“Can he see himself finishing school if in the event something happened?” Trent Cook said. “An injury or if there’s a setback in his college career for whatever reason might get diverted off course. We want to make a selection not only based off of the basketball program, but based upon an institution he can see himself actually getting a degree from.”

Cook’s relationship with Coach Mike Anderson and associate head coach Melvin Watkins also played a major role in him having the Razorbacks on his list. The elder Cook said confidence in a school’s coaching staff is a must.

“They’re going to be his mentors, his leaders for the most part on campus,” Trent Cook said. “He wants to or should want to go to school where he has a comfort level and confidence with the person that’s at the helm. Tyler has always been the kind of person that can size up character and figure out who he wants to be around or who he should or should not be around.”

Cook, who has a 3.5 grade point average, has been told by his coaches that he has the ability to guard multiple positions on the floor.

“From the three to the five and sometimes I’m able to switch on the screen,” said Cook, who averaged 15 points and 8.3 rebounds this past season. “Offensively, I’m able to shoot the ball pretty well from mid-range. I finish inside. I have pretty good footwork along with my hands and I’m able to focus on the little things.”

Trent Cook and his wife were familiar with Anderson during his time at Missouri, but the recruiting process has afforded them an opportunity to get to him and his staff better and they like what they’ve heard.

“How they talked about being an extension to their players, not just with basketball was concerned,” Trent Cook said. “But in mentoring for manhood and trying to be good role models and good examples for on and off the court because they not only wanted to develop and grow good players, but they wanted to develop and grow solid young men. That was very important with us. It’s certainly important to Tyler.”